Bad cookie?

December 17, 2007 3:21 PM

Occasionally I appear to be a random user.

Since I've been keeping track, which is not long, I have seen "welcome back cathedral" and "welcome back oncogenesis" in the upper right corner. When I post, however, the login page comes up.

posted by swift to Bugs at 3:21 PM (41 comments total)

I bet you $20 you are using a caching server on your network (some schools, workplaces, or even cable companies do this). You are getting the front page from another person on your network that viewed the page recently. If you post however, be assured it will always post as you, since that has nothing to do with network caching.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 3:24 PM on December 17, 2007

Ah, makes sense -- I work in a big office, and actually have to go through a proxy, so the network includes other offices across the country.
posted by swift at 3:29 PM on December 17, 2007

man, and I thought it was a sign of SOCK PUPPETRY!
posted by shmegegge at 3:32 PM on December 17, 2007

You can use this to figure out where people work, possibly even the identity of a second account used for anonymous posting.
posted by grouse at 3:38 PM on December 17, 2007

Yeah, it happens now and then.

It's in the FAQ!
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:46 PM on December 17, 2007

Occasionally? You're just a random user right now.
posted by koeselitz at 3:47 PM on December 17, 2007

Reading above the fold, I anticipated a far more existential post.
posted by enn at 4:15 PM on December 17, 2007

Huh, apparently no one else here is a MeFite. Actually, this does not surprise me.
posted by desjardins at 4:24 PM on December 17, 2007

Occasionally I prefer a pear to a randy muser.
posted by Effigy2000 at 4:28 PM on December 17, 2007

everyone thinks i'm a random user
posted by pyramid termite at 4:46 PM on December 17, 2007

Sometimes I think I'm a butterfly. Wheeee!
posted by miss lynnster at 5:57 PM on December 17, 2007

-insert obligatory viking/dream statement-
posted by edgeways at 6:23 PM on December 17, 2007

You are getting the front page from another person on your network that viewed the page recently.

That's because you don't send a "Vary: Cookie" header when you serve your pages. It exists to stop this.
posted by cillit bang at 6:26 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Sometimes I get "welcome back quonsar" OH SHIT I SAID TOO MUCH ATH+++ NO CARRIER
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:27 PM on December 17, 2007 [3 favorites]

Go to sleep gnfti. You obviously shouldn't be up so late.
posted by jouke at 6:31 PM on December 17, 2007

Ahm. Me?
Yes, important presentation at work tomorrow and all that.
Couldn't sleep....
G'night!
posted by jouke at 6:33 PM on December 17, 2007

Huh. OK, so your screens apparently all say, "welcome back, _____." You're sure? They don't say, oh, for example, "go play in traffic, FelliniBlank"?

And if someone's screen did say something like that, it'd be a bug, right?
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:37 PM on December 17, 2007

I know the identity of at least one other MeFite who works at Microsoft thanks to this feature.
posted by kindall at 7:00 PM on December 17, 2007

Coincidentally, I occasionally appear to be swift.
posted by a random user at 7:31 PM on December 17, 2007 [4 favorites]

Geez, I hope that was worth the 5 duckets.
posted by puke & cry at 7:49 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

That's because you don't send a "Vary: Cookie" header when you serve your pages. It exists to stop this.

I have been sending a header with this in it: NAME="Cache-Control" VALUE="private" since the last time someone said there was a way to prevent this. I just added it to the index page, since we were only doing it on comment pages.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:50 PM on December 17, 2007

"Geez, I hope that was worth the 5 duckets."

That's ducats, isn't it?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:20 PM on December 17, 2007

No, it's a misspelling of duckettes. They are anthropomorphic ducks that quack Christmas carols. Matt excepts them in lieu of cash.
posted by Pants! at 8:39 PM on December 17, 2007

or rather, he accepts them.

stupid, stupid Pants!
posted by Pants! at 8:41 PM on December 17, 2007

Normally, we'd ban you for a misspelling like that—but this time we'll make an acception.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:45 PM on December 17, 2007

Yeah, but what are we going to do about his stupid pants?
posted by ook at 8:50 PM on December 17, 2007

I know the identity of at least one other MeFite who works at Microsoft thanks to this feature.

This bug got someone a job? Awesome!
posted by breezeway at 9:15 PM on December 17, 2007

Well, I'm embarssed now.
posted by puke & cry at 9:41 PM on December 17, 2007

The name is User.

J. Random User.
posted by ottereroticist at 10:27 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Attention all users: this is the dork thread. Repeat: this is the dork thread.
posted by frecklefaerie at 10:56 PM on December 17, 2007

This is the internet. They're all dork threads.
posted by dersins at 11:04 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Do you have random blackouts? And when you wake up, are you covered in blood and smelling of fish, with your hands on the keyboard, logged into MeFi with some obscurer username? Is your paypal account missing $5 every time? Maybe you should seek help.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:19 PM on December 17, 2007

*seeks help*
posted by dg at 1:43 AM on December 18, 2007

Consider yourself lucky! Some users would kill for that feature.
posted by mkultra at 7:49 AM on December 18, 2007

Occasionally I appear to be a random user

Occasionally?
posted by dersins at 8:09 AM on December 18, 2007

Occasionally I appear to be a random user.

That's weird; on occasion, I randomly appear and use people.
posted by quin at 8:26 AM on December 18, 2007

That's the problem with randomness, you can never be sure.
posted by philomathoholic at 2:21 PM on December 18, 2007

Occasionally, I appear to be a Victorian gentleman with a monocle and a straight razor.
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:57 PM on December 18, 2007

And a fedora?
posted by desjardins at 3:00 PM on December 18, 2007

I would guess a bowler instead.
posted by quin at 3:02 PM on December 18, 2007

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.
I usually make do with a bag of chips though.
posted by Abiezer at 3:18 AM on December 19, 2007